Land purchase would expand Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - The 176-acre Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve could grow if Winnebago County is able to buy two adjoining properties this fall.

A proposed $1.1 million bond sale would ensure the purchase happens.

The Rockford Register Star reports (http://bit.ly/2b6FKLw ) that the county forest preserves board of commissioners will hold a public hearing Sept. 21 on the proposed bond sale.

The district wants to buy 36 additional acres of privately owned property that would fill in areas of the preserve, whose northern and southern halves are barely contiguous.

The district would turn the farmland into prairie and oak forest.

The expansion would create larger habitat for wildlife, including eagles. A 1.5-mile hiking trail would also be extended.

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Information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com